Chapter 15

A Return to the True God

“I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love among yourselves.”​—John 13:34, 35.

1, 2. What should be the effects of love among true Christians?

WITH those words, Jesus established a criterion for those claiming to be his true followers. Christian love would have to transcend all racial, tribal, and national divisions. It would require that true Christians should be “no part of the world,” just as Jesus was, and is, “no part of the world.”​—John 17:14, 16; Romans 12:17-21.

² How does the Christian show himself to be “no part of the world”? For example, how should he act with regard to the turbulent politics, revolutions, and wars of our times? The Christian apostle John wrote, in harmony with Jesus’ words above: “Everyone who does not carry on righteousness does not originate with God, neither does he who does not love his brother. For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should have love for one another.” And Jesus himself explained why his disciples did not fight to deliver him, saying: “My kingdom is no part of this world. If my kingdom were part of this world, my attendants would have fought . . . But, as it is, my kingdom is not from this source.” Even with Jesus’ life at stake, those attendants did not get involved in settling the controversy according to the warring ways of the world.​—1 John 3:10-12; John 18:36.

3, 4. (a) What did Isaiah prophesy regarding “the final part of the days”? (b) What questions require an answer?

³ Over 700 years before Christ, Isaiah prophesied that people of all nations would gather to Jehovah’s true worship and would learn war no more. He said: “And it must occur in the final part of the days that the mountain of the house of Jehovah will become firmly established above the top of the mountains, . . . and to it all the nations must stream. And many peoples will certainly go and say: ‘Come, you people, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will instruct us about his ways, and we will walk in his paths.’ For out of Zion law will go forth, and the word of Jehovah out of Jerusalem. And he will certainly render judgment among the nations and set matters straight respecting many peoples. And they will have to beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning shears. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, neither will they learn war anymore.”a​—Isaiah 2:2-4.

⁴ Which of all the religions in the world has been outstanding in meeting these requirements? Who have refused to learn war in spite of prisons, concentration camps, and death sentences?

Christian Love and Neutrality

5. What record of Christian neutrality have Jehovah’s Witnesses established as individuals, and why?

⁵ Jehovah’s Witnesses are known worldwide for their individual conscientious stand of Christian neutrality. They have endured prisons, concentration camps, torture, deportations, and persecution throughout the 20th century because they have refused to sacrifice their love and unity as a worldwide congregation of Christians drawn to God. In Nazi Germany during the years 1933-45, about a thousand Witnesses died and thousands were imprisoned, on account of their refusal to cooperate with Hitler’s war effort. Likewise, under Franco in formerly Fascist Spain, hundreds of young Witnesses went to prison and many spent an average of ten years each in military prisons rather than learn war. To this day in several countries, many young Witnesses of Jehovah languish in prisons because of their stand on Christian neutrality. However, Jehovah’s Witnesses do not interfere with the governments in their military programs. The Witnesses’ unwavering Christian neutrality in political matters has been one of the constants of their beliefs throughout all the conflicts and wars of the 20th century. It stamps them as true followers of Christ and separates them from Christendom’s religions.​—John 17:16; 2 Corinthians 10:3-5.

6, 7. What have Jehovah’s Witnesses come to understand regarding Christianity?

⁶ By holding to the Bible and to the example of Christ, Jehovah’s Witnesses demonstrate they are practicing the worship of the true God, Jehovah. They recognize God’s love as reflected in the life and sacrifice of Jesus. They understand that true Christian love results in an indivisible worldwide brotherhood​—above political, racial, and national divisions. In other words, Christianity is more than international; it is supranational, transcending national boundaries, authority, or interests. It views the human race as one family with a common progenitor and with a common Creator, Jehovah God.​—Acts 17:24-28; Colossians 3:9-11.

⁷ While nearly all other religions have been involved in wars​—fratricidal and homicidal—​Jehovah’s Witnesses have shown that they take to heart the prophecy of Isaiah 2:4, quoted previously. ‘But,’ you might ask, ‘where did Jehovah’s Witnesses come from? How do they function?’

God’s Long Line of Witnesses

8, 9. What invitation has God extended to mankind?

⁸ Over 2,700 years ago, the prophet Isaiah also uttered the following invitation: “Search for Jehovah, you people, while he may be found. Call to him while he proves to be near. Let the wicked man leave his way, and the harmful man his thoughts; and let him return to Jehovah, who will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for he will forgive in a large way.”​—Isaiah 55:6, 7.

⁹ Centuries later, the Christian apostle Paul explained to those Greeks in Athens who were “given to the fear of the [mythological] deities”: “[God] made out of one man every nation of men, to dwell upon the entire surface of the earth, and he decreed the appointed times and the set limits of the dwelling of men, for them to seek God, if they might grope for him and really find him, although, in fact, he is not far off from each one of us.”​—Acts 17:22-28.

10. How do we know that God was not far off from Adam and Eve and their children?

¹⁰ Certainly God was not far off from his human creations Adam and Eve. He spoke to them, communicating his commandments and wishes. Furthermore, God did not conceal himself from their sons Cain and Abel. He counseled hateful Cain when he showed envy regarding his brother’s sacrifice to God. However, rather than change his form of worship, Cain showed jealous, religious intolerance and murdered his brother Abel.​—Genesis 2:15-17; 3:8-24; 4:1-16.

11. (a) What does the word “martyr” mean? (b) How did Abel become the first martyr?

¹¹ Abel, by his faithfulness to God even to death, became the first martyr.b He was also the first witness of Jehovah and the forerunner of a long line of integrity-keeping witnesses all down through history. Thus Paul could state: “By faith Abel offered God a sacrifice of greater worth than Cain, through which faith he had witness borne to him that he was righteous, God bearing witness respecting his gifts; and through it he, although he died, yet speaks.”​—Hebrews 11:4.

12. Who are further examples of Jehovah’s faithful witnesses?

¹² In that same letter to the Hebrews, Paul lists a whole series of faithful men and women, such as Noah, Abraham, Sarah, and Moses, who, by their record of integrity, came to form a ‘great cloud of witnesses [Greek, mar·tyʹron]’ who have served as examples and encouragement for others wanting to know and serve the true God. They were men and women who had a relationship with Jehovah God. They had sought and found him.​—Hebrews 11:1–12:1.

13. (a) Why is Jesus an outstanding manifestation of God’s love? (b) In what special way is Jesus an example to his followers?

¹³ Outstanding among such witnesses was the one described in the book of Revelation, “Jesus Christ, ‘the Faithful Witness.’” Jesus is yet another clear evidence of God’s love, for as John wrote: “We ourselves have beheld and are bearing witness that the Father has sent forth his Son as Savior of the world. Whoever makes the confession that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, God remains in union with such one and he in union with God. And we ourselves have come to know and have believed the love that God has in our case.” Born a Jew, Jesus was a true witness and died a martyr in faithfulness to his Father, Jehovah. Christ’s authentic followers down through the ages would likewise be witnesses of him and of the true God, Jehovah.​—Revelation 1:5; 3:14; 1 John 4:14-16; Isaiah 43:10-12; Matthew 28:19, 20; Acts 1:8.

14. What question now requires an answer?

¹⁴ Isaiah’s prophecy indicated that a return to the true God, Jehovah, would be a feature of “the final part of the days,” or what other parts of the Bible term “the last days.”c In view of the religious diversity and confusion that we have described in this book, the question arises: Who in these last days in which we live have really searched for the true God, to serve him “with spirit and truth”? To answer that question, we must first turn our attention to events of the 19th century.​—Isaiah 2:2-4; 2 Timothy 3:1-5; John 4:23, 24.

A Young Man in Search of God

15. (a) Who was Charles Taze Russell? (b) What were some of his religious doubts?

¹⁵ In 1870 a zealous young man, Charles Taze Russell (1852-1916), began to ask many questions about Christendom’s traditional teachings. As a youth, he worked in his father’s haberdashery in the bustling industrial city of Allegheny (now part of Pittsburgh), Pennsylvania, U.S.A. His religious background was Presbyterian and Congregational. However, he was perturbed by such teachings as predestination and eternal torment in hellfire. What were his reasons for doubting these basic doctrines of some of Christendom’s religions? He wrote: “A God that would use his power to create human beings whom he foreknew and predestinated should be eternally tormented, could be neither wise, just nor loving. His standard would be lower than that of many men.”​—Jeremiah 7:31; 19:5; 32:35; 1 John 4:8, 9.

16, 17. (a) What teachings deeply interested Russell’s Bible study group? (b) What major disagreement arose, and how did Russell answer?

¹⁶ While still in his late teens, Russell started a weekly Bible study group with other young men. They began to analyze the Bible’s teachings on other subjects, such as immortality of the soul as well as Christ’s ransom sacrifice and his second coming. In 1877, at the age of 25, Russell sold his share in his father’s prospering business and began a full-time preaching career.

¹⁷ In 1878 Russell had a major disagreement with one of his collaborators, who had rejected the teaching that Christ’s death could be an atonement for sinners. In his rebuttal Russell wrote: “Christ accomplished various good things for us in his death and resurrection. He was our substitute in death; he died the just for the unjust​—all were unjust. Jesus Christ by the grace of God tasted death for every man. . . . He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him.” He continued: “To redeem is to buy back. What did Christ buy back for all men? Life. We lost it by the disobedience of the first Adam. The second Adam [Christ] bought it back with his own life.”​—Mark 10:45; Romans 5:7, 8; 1 John 2:2; 4:9, 10.

18. (a) What followed the disagreement over the ransom? (b) What pattern did the Bible Students follow regarding donations?

¹⁸ Always a staunch advocate of the ransom doctrine, Russell severed all ties with this former collaborator. In July 1879, Russell started to publish Zion’s Watch Tower and Herald of Christ’s Presence, known worldwide today as The Watchtower​—Announcing Jehovah’s Kingdom. In 1881 he, in association with other dedicated Christians, established a nonprofit Bible society. It was called Zion’s Watch Tower Tract Society, known today as the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, the legal agency that acts in behalf of Jehovah’s Witnesses. From the very beginning, Russell insisted that there would be no collections taken at congregation meetings nor contributions solicited through the Watch Tower publications. The people who joined Russell in deep Bible study became known simply as the Bible Students.

A Return to Bible Truth

19. What teachings of Christendom did the Bible Students reject?

¹⁹ As a result of their Bible study, Russell and his associates came to reject Christendom’s teachings of a mysterious “Most Holy Trinity,” an inherently immortal human soul, and eternal torment in hellfire. They also rejected the need for a separate seminary-trained clergy class. They wanted to return to the humble origins of Christianity, with spiritually qualified elders to lead the congregations without thought of a salary or remuneration.​—1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9.

20. What did those Bible Students discover regarding Christ’s pa·rou·siʹa and 1914?

²⁰ In their investigation of God’s Word, those Bible Students were keenly interested in the prophecies of the Christian Greek Scriptures related to “the end of the world” and to Christ’s “coming.” (Matthew 24:3, KJ) By turning to the Greek text, they discovered that Christ’s “coming” was, in fact, a “pa·rou·siʹa,” or invisible presence. Therefore, Christ had given his disciples information about the evidence of his invisible presence in the time of the end, not a future visible coming. Along with this study, those Bible students had a keen desire to understand the Bible’s chronology in relation to Christ’s presence. Without understanding all the details, Russell and his associates realized that 1914 would be a crucial date in human history.​—Matthew 24:3-22; Luke 21:7-33, Int.

21. What responsibility did Russell and his fellow believers feel?

²¹ Russell knew that a great preaching work had to be done. He was conscious of the words of Jesus recorded by Matthew: “And this good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14; Mark 13:10) There was a sense of urgency to the activity of those Bible Students prior to 1914. They believed that their preaching activity would culminate in that year, and therefore they felt they should expend every effort to help others to know “this good news of the kingdom.” Eventually, C. T. Russell’s Bible sermons were being published in thousands of newspapers around the world.

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Christian Neutrality in Pagan Rome

In accordance with the principles of love and peace that Jesus taught, and based on their personal study of God’s Word, early Christians would not participate in wars or in training for them. Jesus had said: “My kingdom is no part of this world. If my kingdom were part of this world, my attendants would have fought that I should not be delivered up to the Jews. But, as it is, my kingdom is not from this source.”​—John 18:36.

At as late a date as 295 C.E., Maximilianus of Theveste, son of a Roman army veteran, was conscripted for military service. When the proconsul asked him his name, he answered: “Now, why do you want to know my name? I have a conscientious objection to military service: I am a Christian. . . . I can’t serve; I can’t sin against my conscience.” The proconsul warned him that he would lose his life if he did not obey. “I won’t serve. You may behead me, but I won’t serve the powers of This World; I will serve my God.”​—An Historian’s Approach to Religion, by Arnold Toynbee.

In modern times, personal study of the Bible has led individual Witnesses of Jehovah worldwide to follow the dictates of conscience in taking a similar stand. In some countries many paid the supreme price, especially in Nazi Germany, where they were shot, hanged, and beheaded during World War II. But their worldwide unity, based on Christian love, has never been broken. No one has ever died in war at the hands of one of the Christian Witnesses of Jehovah. How different world history might have been if every professing Christian had also lived by Christ’s rule of love!​—Romans 13:8-10; 1 Peter 5:8, 9.